The George Harrison-Penned Beatles Song That the Band Never Performed Live (And Why)

While The Beatles did their best to perform their most-loved songs while they were still touring, quite a few tracks have never been performed live by the Fab Four. The group retired (officially) from touring in 1966, and quite a bit of music never got to see a proper live performance. It’s sad, but understandable.

However, there is one song that had about a year of life before the band retired to be played in front of audiences. Regardless, the Fab Four never played it live; and many fans wonder why, considering it’s a great song. The track happens to be George Harrison’s second songwriting credit for the band, and it’s also considered by many to be Harrison’s very first “big” track contribution to the band’s discography.

The song in question is “I Need You” from the 1965 Beatles album Help!

Why The Beatles Never Performed “I Need You” Live

It’s a little puzzling why The Beatles (or George Harrison alone) never performed “I Need You” live. Harrison went on two substantial tours while he was alive, in 1974 and 1991, respectively. He also put on a number of one-night-only shows throughout his career, notably with the Concert For Bangladesh event.

We can understand why The Beatles didn’t perform the song live before their retirement in 1966. There wasn’t much time left, and their setlist slots were reserved for fan favorites. However, why wouldn’t George Harrison perform the iconic song live during his solo career?

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None of the Fab Four ever revealed why they didn’t perform the song. However, there is a pretty likely reason why Harrison never performed the song during his solo treks.

Years after “I Need You” was released, Harrison said that he had quite a bit of trouble working with the volume foot pedal used with his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar while recording the song.

“I could never coordinate it [the volume pedal],” said Harrison. “So some of those, what we do is, I played the part, and John would kneel down in front of me and turn my guitar’s volume control. […] Some players can do that, they can play and use their little finger around the volume control. I was never very good with machinery.”

Even the best musicians have roadblock moments with their equipment. At least we got the Tom Petty live version.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives

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